Karma
by LaMerRouge
Summary: Aislin McKay is the last thing you'd expect, a brutally outspoken 17 year old who's only 5'2". She's obsessive and toxic, a seemingly permanently angry person. In reality she's a scared lost girl with so much, that she's not quite sure what to do with it. An (Eventual) OWxOC, rated M just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1: The First Mistake

"Unbelievable" she muttered under her breath and slammed the letter onto her desk. "Who'd you pay?" She spat angrily, whirling around to face the tall muscular brunette behind her. "This is impossible, I'm ten times the chaser you are." Venom practically dripped from her words and her face twisted in an ugly display of scorn and displeasure.

"I didn't pay anyone McKay." The brunette's voice sounded tired and his slouch was one of lazy assertiveness over the much smaller blonde.

"Don't lie to me Davies." Her retort was even and icy. Davies approached her, and wrapped a large hand around her bicep, and ran the other down her shoulder in an awkwardly comforting fashion. He leaned down his breath fanning the girls face as he spoke quietly.

"Maybe Flitwick doesn't trust your leadership skills, not your chasing skills." He kissed below her ear, trailing down to her collarbone. She stood still, letting him touch her, but not reciprocating.

"Roger..." She warned before trailing off as he grabbed her hips, lifting her onto the desk.

"Aislin." He growled, dropping down in front of her, a hand on her thigh as he stated up into her blue eyes, his own shining with desire. She glared down at him, unceremoniously grabbing his hand off her thigh and dropping it with a thud onto the desk. Aislin stood and sneered at him. Walking across the room away from him, she paused at the door and yanked it open angrily.

"Out." She stated simply, an eyebrow raised cockily, begging for him to refuse her request. In defeat the other Ravenclaw exited into the lit hallway, turning back towards the door, mouth open, as if to speak but his words were cut off by the loud slam of a door closing in his face.

The blonde girl behind it smiled in an oddly triumphant way as she scanned the room, the air was cold and stiff, and seemed to hang motionless as if to deprive all who entered of the essential oxygen it contained. The walls were a conflicting shade of beige, a warm color who's vibrancy was sucked out, the room a dull monotone in the eyes of Aislin McKay. Shiny bright books lined the far wall, the only place that still held any life. She ran a slim hand along the spines with a foreign soft touch exhibiting her comfortable familiarity with them. As she moved towards the white desk, she caught sight of herself in an ornate mirror that leaned against the wall and sighed, her makeup was perfect, her cheekbones exaggerated just enough and highlighted in all the right places, her blonde hair rested piled on top of her head, in an ideal messy bun. Aislin clenched her jaw and place her hands on her hips, her fingernails digging into the slightly exposed skin of her midriff. Everything was unbelievable perfect, so why did everyone else believe it?

Angrily she stabbed at the broccoli on her plate, her "perfect Quidditch captain boyfriend" was just that, captain. Aislin worked harder at Quidditch than at anything else in her obnoxiously trivial life. Each year the captaincy had slipped from her grasp into the waiting, and talented hands of her boyfriend, Roger Davies. It didn't seem to matter to anyone that it was her who held the top goal scoring record in the history of hogwarts, or that she was far more capable of running a team than Davies, who in reality just did exactly what she told him too. In all honesty she was getting a little bored of him.

"Aislin?" A voice penetrated through her thoughts.

If only she'd been captain this year she could have finally-

"Aislin?" There that annoying voice again. Her head shot up, fierce blue eyes searching for the owner of the voice.

"What the bloody hell do you want?" She snapped, channeling her ever present anger towards an overly nosy older woman who had spent much of dinner trying to pry into her private life. One of her moms friends from the gym for sure. Aislin thought, raking her eyes over the woman, overly tanned skin compressed under too small spandex leggings and a bright neon top. Her muggle mother was too chicken to confront her daughter and resorted to inviting her other muggle friends to come and coax her into a polite and open conversation. The older woman looked slightly affronted.

"Oh well, I was just going to mention that your mom introduced me to that young man Mr. Davies when he stopped by earlier." The woman stuttered at first but soon relaxed into her speech. Aislin only grunted and shoved a forkful of lettuce into her mouth. It was then that her mother made her appearance, walking through the kitchen and immediately began to fuss over the centerpiece in the middle of the table, looking especially nervous.

"So when are you guys leaving?" She asked trying to sound polite as she watched her mother. The flighty woman jumped at the sound of her daughter's voice.

"Oh in 5 or so, we can't miss the last Zumba class of the evening." She squeaked out, still fidgeting. Aislin grunted again and rose from the table, she shot a condescending smile to the prying friend seated at the white quartz counter. Without so much of a second glance she exited the room and disappeared up the stairs.

Another letter had appeared next to her others, one stating her required materials for her impending 7th year, the other about the lack of change in her status, her final chance at captaincy taken away from her by the boy she occasionally went to bed with. Unenthused, she reached for the newest piece of parchment, it was addressed to her from her friend, Sheila Brooks. Hurriedly she tore into the envelope, eyes darting across the unfolded page as she read. As she finished reading she rolled her eyes, the dolt only wanted to do their shopping together, nonetheless she agreed, and sent a letter with her family's owl to tell her so, and to meet her outside of gringotts at 9 o'clock the next morning. Without another thought about her tall black haired classmate, she simply took a hot shower and headed to bed for long night's rest, a temporary release from the air sucking presence of her own self.

She stood outside on the marble stairs in front of the noble facade of Gringotts, her short white skirt wavering slightly in the breeze, her long blonde hair twisting behind her as the crisp morning air tinged her cheeks a light pink. There she waited, blue eyes alert, looking for her dark haired friend amongst the hoards of witches and wizards alike.

"Boo." A familiar voice teased behind Aislin. She spun around a bright smile on her face,

"Sheila!" She squealed in a fashion very unlike her, "Merlins beard, how can someone so big sneak up on people like that?" Aislin beamed at the taller girl, who's bright smile matched her own.

"So miss McKay what have you been up to?" Sheila inquired eyeing the smaller girl along side her as they walked down the crowded alley.

Aislin sighed, "Not enough I'm afraid," she started, turning into a shop who's window advertised the most up and coming clothes, "All I've really done is practice Quidditch, since my mum got back from her vacation to Thailand, she hasn't really planned anything else for the family, and well my dads always gone."

Sheila grunted sympathetically

"It's weird not having Emmet around, the little bitch sure made my life interesting." She continued, running her hands down a few select pieces of clothing. Whatever feelings Aislin had, she only ever shared them with Shelia, her best friend since they'd been sorted into Ravenclaw together. She was immune to Aislin's poison, she was never put out by Aislin's mood swings, because she was the only one with a deeper understanding of the shallow girl who now stood, glaring condescendingly at a younger Slytherin who had just emerged from a dressing room wearing "the most horrendous crime against pant suits" and Aislin turned triumphantly to her best friend as the snake slithered off in a cloud of self consciousness. Sheila rolled her eyes,

"Aislin shut your trap." She teased as she pulled various items from the racks, showing them to Aislin, only to be met with various grunts of agreement or disgust. Through this limited conversation, the two Ravenclaw's decided on a few items and bought them, Sheila forcing Aislin to practice her politeness with the cashier. Exiting the store, McKay glared at the other girl.

"You're the worst." She grumbled as they continued on their way.

"Would I still be the worst if I told you I got us on the list for the new club on Elder Avenue?" Brooks retorted wiggling a dark eyebrow suggestively. The blonde girl's mouth hung in disbelief,

"No way, really?" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly, "I love you!" She squealed and wrapped her arms around her closest friend, who she was far shorter than even in her heeled shoes.

"I knew that would make you happy, maybe even take your mind off Davies for a bit." She said, embracing Aislin back. The other girl stood back, face questioning.

"How did you know I was buggered with Davies?" She demanded, her hands on her lithe hips. Brooks smiled at her.

"Aislin no offense but as much as you'd like to deny it, you're as easy to read as a child's alphabet flash cards." She patted the girl on the shoulder, "No worries, just relax and later tonight we'll check out that club." With that the pair continued their way down Diagon Ally to purchase their school things.

Later that evening, Aislin found herself just outside of a plain brick wall, with one neon sign flashing just above an ornate door, where a bouncer stood, dressed in black, arms crossed threateningly, as they approached, Aislin found she recognized him. When they stepped up to the front of the line she couldn't help the words that spilled out her mouth, really she was intending to be friendly,

"Bole?" She inquired teasingly, "Beater and Bouncer. Merlin I guess your thick skull is good for something." She patted the Slytherin on the shoulder and he glared at her with unexpected hostility.

"Just get inside McKay." He growled and opened up the door, music pouring out from it, as the two girls passed he nodded politely at Sheila, "Brooks" he stated calmly before closing the door behind them.

"Friendly guy that Bole." Aislin stated with mock conviction and grinned up at Sheila. The other girl laughed lightly and maneuvered through the crowd of sweaty drunk party goers.

"Let's get some liquor in you, you're always nicer after a couple of shots." Sheila shouted to her over the noise. As they approached the bar, she held up 4 fingers, and before long a row of shot glasses were filled with various semi opaque liquids. Sheila poured one down then motioned to the remaining three. "Those are for you McKay, you're harder to fell than a pine." She said, shoving her towards the shots.

"Hah! You know it." Aislin announced triumphantly as she brought the first glass to her lips, swallowing it with a practiced ease, in no time she's finished the three and turned back to her friend, who was nursing a fruity looking drink and already swaying to the beat of a song blaring overhead, Aislin ran a hand through her hair, tossing it back and joining her friend on the dance floor.

Letting themselves get lost in the mass of bodies the girls danced, brains beginning to go fuzzy from the drinks filled with various alcohol percentages they had consumed. As the night wore on, the crowd increased and at some point the two Ravenclaw's found themselves separated, or Sheila had just gotten dragged off my some beau, Aislin thought to herself, deeming that the most likely. As the beat slowed and the drinks continued to kick in, Aislin found herself pressed up against the unknown muscular chest of another in the club, she barely felt his hands on her skin as they rocked to the beat, her head tipped back as she shook out her long hair and ran a perfectly manicured finger down the boy's chest. She felt his large fingers run down her spine and grip her butt, drawing her impossibly closer.

"Want to get out of here?" A voice asked into her ear, husky and unapologetically desperate, she bit her lip, and nodded, taking his hand and dragging him out of the thick of the dance floor, in the flashing lights she could barely make out his face but it was handsome nonetheless, Aislin guessed it was the drink talking, but it was also the drink that was now allowing herself to apparate alongside this very drunk and unknown boy.

Opening her eyes, she swayed slightly, finding herself in large room, her hands gripping the large bicep of her latest conquest. Drunkenly leaning into his chest, she could sense the desire rolling off of him, he leaned down and kissed her, sloppily on her lips and then along her jaw. She felt herself responding, hands running through his soft hair, as she allowed him to push her back onto a bed and climb over her. "Fuck Davies" she muttered to herself quietly, letting herself get lost in her sensations.

Stirring in her sleep she repelled the oncoming morning, her head began to pound and she realized that waking up was inevitable, her blue eyes slowly blinking open, only to be met with an unfamiliar ceiling, they were far too low to be the ones in her bedroom, she sat bolt upright, the covers falling into her lap and she gasped before grasping back at the blanket, pulling it back up to cover her exposed breasts. Tentatively she glanced down, looking at the person who occupied the place in the bed next to her. And then she shrieked.

It wasn't a very loud scream, her voice rough and choked up from hours of disuse, it caught several times in her throat, but it was enough to make the boy, the very naked boy, but not just any naked boy, the one and only Gryffindor Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood, stir in his own deep sleep. His brown eyes blinked open lazily, catching sight of the naked blonde staring at him in disbelief, they widened in what Aislin suspected was either disgust or horror.

"Wood?" She gasped out, forgetting her grip on the covers and covering her face in her hands, the blanket fell into her lap, causing the boy next to her to choke in surprise.

"McKay?" He finally managed, trying to avert his eyes from her naked form. This was definitely not something he was used to.

"This cannot be happening." She gulped out, climbing hurriedly out of the bed, grabbing her discarded clothes and quickly replacing her underwear before moving to grab her skirt and shirt. "I have a boyfriend." Aislin spewed out, her voice panicky as she hurried around the room. Oliver sat on the edge of his bed, having already pulled on a pair of pants. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and shook his head.

"McKay, I swear I had no idea, we were both so drunk. I'm. Im really sorry." He stuttered out in his accent, how had she not recognized that last night? She cursed herself as she pulled on her shoes.

"Look Wood, can we please try and forget this happened? Please don't tell a soul." She pleaded, practically on her knees before him, there was no way she could let this get out, she needed to keep Davies along side her if she was going to have any chance of making the Ravenclaw team again, Roger was nothing if not petty and he wouldn't hesitate to cut his best player from the team if they'd offended him. Aislin stared at Wood, eyes filled with an unfamiliar cry for help, she detested relying on someone else, but she couldn't let this get out, ever.

"Fine." He stated simply, clenching his jaw as he glared at the Ravenclaw girl. She sighed in relief and disapparated into thin air desperate to leave his oppressive presence.

She reappeared in her room, letting out a strangled cry of frustration and throwing her shoes angrily in the direction of her closet.

"The apparition of shame." A voice tutted from a corner of her room, where she saw Sheila sitting in an armchair stifling her laughter. "Those marks certainly aren't from Davies are they?" Brooks looked at her with mock disapproval.

"Oh bugger off." She growled, collapsing onto her plush bed.

"So who was the lucky man, or lady." Sheila added thoughtfully.

"Don't expect me to tell you. Ever." Aislin cried out in anguish, with herself and with the stinking Gryffindor she'd allowed to seduce her. Sheila moped,

"Well that's no fun is it, seeing as I covered for you with your mother and your boyfriend."

"Roger was already here?"

"Yup, in the flesh, told him you were out getting coffee for us down the street and that you'd be back later, but that we'd been planning a girls day and that he should probably just stop by tomorrow."

"Ugh I love you Sheila." She sighed in relief.

"If you love me, will you tell me who thought you were tasty enough to take a bite out of?" She pried suggestively.

"Must you be so childish?" Aislin chided making a face of disgust at her suggestive comparison. "How badly do you want to know?"

"More than anything really." Sheila said thoughtful as if she was debating the numerical amount.

"Fine, but only if you give me some of that hangover potion I know you bring everywhere." She bargained, hand outstretched, the other Ravenclaw placed a simple vial in her open palm and Aislin downed it quickly, immediately feeling it take effect. "It was, don't laugh, I didn't know who it was until this morning." She paused and took a breath. "It was Oliver Wood." Aislin said hurriedly and hid her face in a pillow. It was Sheila's turn to shriek.

"I still can't believe you slept with Wood! Of all people, him?" Sheila continued to provoke Aislin as they made their way down the road from a nearby muggle coffee shop. She was practically jeering the entire time Aislin recalled the details she had insisted upon hearing. The other Ravenclaw was rather put out by her friends lack of sympathy. But the dark haired witch only snorted, "Oh my little McKay, you sure had it coming."

"Just let it go would you?" Aislin exclaimed, taking a soothing sip of her warm cappuccino, "I really just want to forget this whole thing happened. This could ruin me Brooks! If Roger finds out he'll absolutely lose it! The poor sod's desperately in love with me, and he's my only shot to go pro!" She buried her face in her hands, her exasperation with the whole thing evident.

"Look I won't tell a soul, but don't expect me to quit joking about it in private so lighten up a bit would ya?" Sheila patted her on the back in mock comfort as they carried on their way down the cobbled path, bright leaves fluttering in the warm August air. The park was oddly still and quiet, which was unusual for this part of town, usually it was filled with laughing, joyous children. The change was inexplicable and the girls came to a halt, gazing worriedly across the magically concealed park just within the walls of a gated magical community. A weathered piece of parchment hissed as it skidded across the concrete path, moved by an invisible breeze, stopping its voyage just under the foot of Aislin McKay, who bent to grasp it tentatively, bringing it up to eye level, peeling back the bent over corner. She was met with a laughing and manic face, wrenching against chains underneath dark bold lettering that screamed at Aislin, "Escaped Mass Murderer, Sirius Black" The short girl gulped audibly and passed off the notice to the other girl standing next to her apprehensively. They glanced at each other worriedly, before taking off down the path at an extremely brisk walk, once within a block of her house she glanced behind her to see Sheila wave a worried goodbye and dissaparate. Left alone in the road, the blonde bolted for her front door and only let out a calm breath when she leaned against the dead locked door of her house.


	2. Chapter 2: Ice Cold

She could feel his rough hands gliding over her skin, the way they gripped her waist as his mouth attacked her neck, leaving lazy kisses down her collar bone and between her breasts, Aislin gasped when he took a nipple in his mouth, already hardened from his touch. The sensation was short lived as he continued, kissing down her stomach, a warm hand gripping her left thigh, he pushed her legs wider, and she could only watch as his head dipped lower, and bright amber eyes stared into her own.

Aislin sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily, a sheen of sweat covering her body. This was the fifth dream she'd had since, what Shelia called, the incident. Each time, just before she woke up she would catch sight of _his_ face, and those certainly hadn't been Roger's dark blue eyes. She tore back the covers, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and stood shakily, gripping the head board for support. As she steadied herself, she exited the room to shower, attempting to wash away the memories of a certain Gryffindor's touch.

Dressed in a fresh pair of light wash skinny jeans and a lose blue sweater, Aislin set about completing her packing, neatly folding various articles of clothing and placing them in her trunk, with her clothes all stored away, her black cat, Etienne, sleeping lazily at the foot of her bed, and her new Nimbus sitting pretty in the corner, she sat down in a cream colored armchair and sighed in a mixture of apprehension and relief. There was a sudden pop that resounded throughout her room, looking up, Sheila stood, covered head to toe in party streamers, with a garish hat made of sparkling multicolored confetti perched on thee head. Aislin stifled a laugh, regarding her friend with eyebrows raised,

"I must admit, I'm scared to ask what you've been up to." She admitted awaiting an explanation from her beaming classmate.

"Oh all this?" Sheila asked, motioning to her flamboyant outfit. "It's on with a sticking charm, my brother thought it would be fun to practice his charm skills on me."

"And he's alive?" Aislin snorted standing from her chair

Sheila shrugged, "I figured it was nothing our favorite 7 NEWTs student couldn't handle."

Aislin walked over to her, pulling off a streamer, only to watch it be replaced by two more. "Well it acts kind of like a hydra, I'm afraid the only way we can cure you is by setting you on fire so they won't grow back." She feigned sadness as she held up her wand, a flame flickering at its tip.

"Aislin stop joking around, it's scary." Sheila glanced at her warily, "It's really hard to tell when you're lying." She whispered, slowly backing away from her friend.

Aislin extinguished the flame, "Why do I even bother?" She sighed

"Not all of us can be as humorous as yours truly."

"At least I'm theatrical." She settled, before slipping into thought, going through spells she knew, searching for one that could help Sheila in her current situation. "Finite." She muttered softly and the confetti and streamers fell away into a festive pile on the floor. "Tell your brother his sticking charms aren't very strong." She uttered triumphantly, a smirk on her face.

Sheila rolled her eyes, "Don't get too full of yourself, it's already going to be difficult to stuff your oversized head into the train. Are you packed? We should probably get going, my dad has the car warming up at my house, I told your mom we were taking you."

Aislin blinked at her, "Oh right, yeah yeah I'm ready." She immediately came alive, rushing around the room, gathering her last few things, Sheila stood in the middle of the room, Aislin's trunk in one hand, the other stretched out towards Aislin, the blonde stuffed her cat under her arm with her broom, and was met with a lazy squeak of protest. Then came the gut wrenching feeling when she grabbed her friend's hand, the world spun around for what seemed like hours, until it stopped suddenly, but instead of her room, Aislin was in a cozy room filled with art supplies and half filled canvases, the smell was almost toxic, all the paints laying around couldn't be healthy, _"That must be why Sheila's such an airhead sometimes."_ Aislin snorted to herself, setting down her squirming cat and checking her Nimbus for scratches.

"Quit looking at that broom like you're about to make sweet love to it and help me load up the car." Sheila snapped from the doorway, her own large trunk in her hand.

Aislin felt her comment didn't warrant a response and grudgingly carried her trunk out towards the nearby SUV, she heaved it into the trunk, shoving it up against Sheila's, placing her cat's cage opposite from Sheila's owl, and cast an immobulus charm to prevent it from sliding around. She then placed her broomstick on top, sending it one last longing glance before she closed the trunk.

"I saw that." Sheila teased, standing with her arms crossed on the adjacent sidewalk. Aislin rolled her eyes and shoved past her, settling herself in the spacious back seat. Sheila climbed into the front, and the two sat in comfortable silence as her dad began to drive towards London, and the Hogwarts Express.

The platform was electric, buzzing with excitement and the nerves of several of the first years, Aislin had spotted Harry Potter and most of the Weasleys almost immediately, and had politely greeted the infectiously happy twins, Fred and George. Shoving through the crowd, their carts stuffed to the brim with all their belongings, the two Ravenclaws made their way onto the train, ducking hurriedly into the nearest empty compartment, Aislin began to shove her trunk into the overhead, when she saw another hand appear on her trunk, shoving it much more easily into place.

"You're welcome." The boy snorted and Aislin spun around in surprise, her heart slowed as she saw who it was, and she offered him a tight lipped smile as she sat down on the bench.

"Oh, hey Roger." She offered and heard a choked laugh come from across the compartment, she shot a quick glare at her dark haired friend and turned back to her boyfriend. He grinned lazily at her, and sat next to her, but quickly maneuvering himself so that his head rested in her lap. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through his dark brown hair, he hummed quietly and she could feel the vibration against her leg. He spoke suddenly, startling her,

"So how was the rest of you're summer? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." He stared up at her, blue eyes piercing as he waited for her answer

"I only lost one game of exploding snap to Sheila." Aislin announced matter o factly

"You lost every time McKay."

"Did not! You're complete rubbish at exploding snap!"

"Says the only girl to lose in the first round six times in a row."

"That was second year! Let it go Brooks!" Aislin challenged, glaring at the other Ravenclaw girl.

"Okay, touchy subject." Roger cut in, a smirk set on his face, "In case any of you were wondering, I had a lovely time in Denmark." He started, before being rudely cut off by a loud grumble,

"No one was wondering Davies." Sheila spat out and Roger simply shot her a look.

"Bloody hell did you two switch or something? You're being inexplicably sweet Aislin, and Brooks is just being downright sour." His voice was smooth and frustratingly monotonous. She smiled at him warmly,

"I guess I'm just in a surprisingly good mood today." Aislin shrugged, watching his ribs move up and down with his breathing.

"Yeah surprising is right." Sheila grumbled, Aislin and Roger ignored her. Turning back instead to their own conversation.

"You're usually so grumpy, it's nice to see you kind of smile every once in a while." Davies teased

"Hey no one said you had to stick around if you didn't like me being grumpy." Aislin stated defensively, pulling her fingers from his hair and crossing her arms.

"I didn't mean it like that Ash, it's just you're so..." He trailed off

"What?" She hissed eyes narrowing, "I'm so cold? I'm so mean, offensive? What Davies it's not like I haven't heard them all before." Aislin snapped glaring down at him, she shot to her feet suddenly, sending Davies' head off of her lap and into the cushion.

"Well since I seem to be the odd one out here, I think I'll go for a walk." She growled and exited the compartment without a single glance back.

Aislin stepped into the empty corridor, stalking down the long aisle, passing various other compartments. Her jaw clenched and unclenched slowly as she flexed her fingers, forming tight fists as her fingernails pressed into her palms. She entered a new car and froze, quite literally. Ice grew across the floor towards her feet and her fingers were stiff from the inexplicable chill of the train. Blue eyes searching, they landed on a strange black figure, hunched through the door of a compartment, her legs took steps forward, hesitantly at first then quicker. The figure, was a dementor if her memories from Defense Against the Dark Arts served her correctly. Aislin pushed through a crowd of younger students, as she neared the dementor she drew her wand. Peering into the cabin she saw a sight that made her stomach plunge and her breath catch in her throat. The monster was currently inhabiting the cabin of the all too familiar Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

Aislin searched for the strength and the warmth of a happy memory as she choked out her words through the frigid air.

"Expecto- Patronum." She managed, eyes fluttering in concentration as a measly strand of light trailed out the tip of her wand barely distracting the dementor.

"You need a happy memory!" And unfamiliar voice screeched from somewhere behind her.

"Hurry up and save him! He's going to die!"

"What's taking so long! You must have some happy memory."

"AISLIN! MOVE!" A voice roared behind her and she stumbled back in a cold daze as a bright light enveloped the cabin, sending the dementor soaring out and into the far end of the aisle, desperately trying to exit the door and escape the blinding light of Sheila Brook's fox patronus. Aislin half stumbled, half walked into a compartment, chest heaving as she sat down, her head in her hands, her lip held between her teeth, trembling slightly.

"What the bloody hell was that?" The same voice roared from the doorway, hands on their hips, eyes livid. Sheila stalked over to where Aislin was seated and shoved her back against the chair, "Aislin have you never made a patronus? How did you pass your OWL?" Sheila asked, slightly calmer, but the harsh edge in her voice remained.

"I- I just can't do it." Aislin choked on her words, they came out in a barely audible rasp. She was barely listening as Sheila yelled expletives in her face. She shot to her feet, shoving the taller girl back, "I don't have any memories strong enough!" Her voice rang out loudly in the compartment, hanging awkwardly in the silence. Time seemed to move at a snail's pace before Sheila clamped her jaw shut, turned on her heel and made for the door. She looked back and stared coldly into Aislin's eyes,

"Then I feel sorry for you McKay." Sheila's voice was eerily calm as she disappeared out the door, slamming it loudly behind her.

Aislin sunk into the cushion again, eyes flicking up to the other person in the cabin who had sat quietly for the past minutes the two Ravenclaws had been fighting. Oliver looked green, and his mouth was slightly ajar, and his jaw quivered slightly, his hazel eyes made contact with her own, and Aislin was suddenly uncomfortably self conscious. She saw him swallow and open his mouth again to speak,

"What just happened?" He deadpanned, looking dazed as his voice came out in a hoarse whisper.

Aislin inhaled sharply, opening and closing her mouth multiple times, "I fucked up." She flinched at her words and continued, "I tried to save you from the dementor, but I've never successfully conjured a patronus, and if it wasn't for Sheila we'd probably both be dead." She explained in what she hoped was a calm and controlled response, rather than a panicked flurry of excuses.

His gaze never left her and she squirmed uncomfortably, "I'm honestly not sure what to say." He finally responded

"Thanks for the effort?" Aislin offered, laughing awkwardly trailing off and staring at her feet.

He snorted, offering her what she suspected was supposed to be an easy smile, but came as more of a pained grimace. "I wish I had some chocolate, getting your soul sucked has awful side effects." Wood joked weakly, rubbing his forehead.

"Look Wood, I think this is something we should just both forget, I was just trying to be the hero. It was dumb."

"Just like that time you fucked me 3 times in one night." His smirk was evident as he watched her.

Aislin's jaw hung, blue eyes wide with the utmost surprise. "We're... We're not talking about that." Her hands clenched into fists, "I said to forget about it." Aislin snarled, shakily climbing to her feet.

"But did you?" He questioned as she made her way to the door, "Did you actually forget about it? The marks I left on your skin, or the way I made you feel things Davies never could match?" Aislin turned from the door to stare at him, his eyebrows raised suggestively, and pink lips parted slightly, she spun away quickly, pulling the door open and slamming it behind her. That little prat was unbelievable.

Aislin made her way into the great hall, her Ravenclaw tie draped sloppily around her neck, the end of her cloak flowing behind her as she shoved through the throng of students forcing their way through the large open doorway. She sat herself at the Ravenclaw table, just across from Sheila, where the black haired girl was ignoring her. Aislin coughed loudly and the other girl glanced over to her, and sighed in resignation.

"Ash, I guess, I mean, I'm really sorry." Sheila stuttered, rubbing the back of her neck, her pale skin flushed red.

"Sheila you're right though, I don't know what I was doing." Aislin admitted.

"I shouldn't have lost it like I did, I think I was afraid of losing you." The words caught in her throat, "You're my best friend Aislin." With that Sheila turned to the front of the room as the first years paraded into the hall.

Roger slipped silently into the seat next to Aislin and pressed a kiss on the side of her head, somewhat startled, she raised her eyes from her empty plate, making contact with a pair of hazel eyes from the next door table. Setting her jaw defiantly, Aislin leaned into Roger, resting her head on his broad shoulder, looking up at his face, breaking the uncomfortable connection between herself and Wood.

"Is that your way of saying sorry?" Aislin asked in a hoarse whisper. She felt him nod,

"I'm sorry for all those things I said, and the things I didn't." He whispered back to her, underneath the loud shouts of the sorting hat.

"I'm not sorry you know." She added defiantly

"I know you're not."

"Good."

As the table erupted into cheers as another first year made their way to the table, Aislin lifted her head from his shoulder and turned her back slightly to him, set on intently watching the rest of the sorting ceremony, _"The last I'll ever see."_ She thought to herself and let out a deflated breath _. "Lets just get through this year alive."_ Aislin decided, cheering along with the rest of the Ravenclaws.

Aislin made her way slowly across the common room towards the dormitories. Climbing up the slowly twisting staircase of Ravenclaw tower, towards the 7th year girls dorm, Aislin recalled her previous years, the gleeful joy of her first year, the bleak feeling of her second and third year, then the rush, the rush she craved so badly, the way the wind tore at her hair and made her eyes water, how a quaffle fit perfectly in the crook of her arm, and the way her muscles stretched to push it towards the hoops. Quidditch was all she cared about anymore, sure she enjoyed Transfiguration and Charms, and she always made good marks, but the ruddy game she loved so much was all that made Hogwarts bearable. Reaching the last landing of the slow climb, Aislin pushed open the aged wooden door, into the splendor that was the 7th year girls sleeping quarters. At the top of the tower, the floor to ceiling windows offered gorgeous views, from where the beds were, the windows looked out onto the Quidditch pitch, a comforting sight for the somewhat distressed blonde. With the dormitory taking up the entire level, the bedroom was spacious, larger than any of the others she'd had in her time at Hogwarts, aiming to explore, Aislin opened a door to her left, which led into a clean and bright bathroom, with what, in daylight, would have a soft backdrop of the nearby forest shining through the windows, it had several sinks and showers, the toilets located just opposite the showers, it, much like the bedroom, was exceedingly large and lavish. Aislin was lost as to what lay just on the other side of another connecting door. Opening it carefully, Aislin stepped into a quiet study, with desks lined up against windows showing the glittering Black Lake below. The other walls were lined with bookshelves, filled with scrolls, models, and books, from bright and new, to old and discolored, there was what seemed a limitless supply of words in the room. Along the far wall was a chalkboard, freshly cleaned and ready for use. The study was surely to be a favorite amongst the others in her year. Opening the next door, Aislin found herself back in the dormitory and smiled to herself, having left the feast early, she had had just enough time to explore before the other girls in her year made their way to the tower from the great hall. They were now busying themselves with unpacking their trunks, filing their assigned closets with uniforms and weekend clothes.

Aislin found her trunk at the foot of one of the four poster beds, to the left of Penelope Clearwater's and just to the right of Sheila's. Kneeling in front of her trunk, she opened it carefully, removing her books and placing them on the stone floor, she pulled out a stack of letters, all from Emmet, her brother who was away in France, commentating for the French Quidditch League. Taking her wand out from her pocket, she sent her clothes flying from her dark brown trunk, where they lined themselves up and placed themselves in her closet, completely color coordinated. Closing her trunk and leaving it at the foot of her bed, Aislin placed the books she needed for tomorrow in her backpack, checking over her schedule once more, she had Potions with the Hufflepuffs first, Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors second, then double Charms with the Hufflepuffs again. She zipped up her bag, leaving it by the trunk and her other books, instead grabbing her letters and shoving them into the nightstand just outside the curtains of her bed.

Drawing open the curtains, her back to Sheila, she heard a quiet cough behind her, Aislin turned around to look at her friend and smiled warmly, "Sheila it's fine, no hard feelings, I promise." She reassured.

"I know I know, I still just feel really bad, if there's anything, and I mean anything I can do just let me know." Sheila pleaded, her lips in a pout as she stared at Aislin.

"Of course, just don't worry about it, you were right, you're always right." Aislin insisted, "Now please Sheila, go to bed, you look positively dreadful." She teased, turning away to change into her pajamas.

"You know I think you're ruddy brilliant, even if you are an insufferable twat." Sheila exclaimed, unexpectedly wrapping her friend in a bone crushing hug. All Aislin could manage was an airy grunt.

 _Hey everyone! Thanks for reading Karma, if you've got time, please review! Just a heads up that this story is still a little weird to me, and it should smoothen out and write better in the next few chapters._

 _ **I do not own Harry Potter!**_


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